Rinus Van de Velde Belgium, b. 1983

Rinus Van de Velde explores circular narratives in virtual, actual, and parallel universes through paintings, installations, sculptures, and films. He builds a unique artistic universe in each work, based on primary historical sources such as photographs he took or collected, images clipped from the media, and documentation of historical figures. In particular, the work in which a character with a similar appearance to the artist draws on the concepts of doppelgänger and parallel universe to expand his artistic practice and explore the expandability of paintings.

His work features a structure that combines an upper image and lower text, drawing inspiration from traditional media layouts, reminiscent of newspapers. By utilising this classic design, he encourages viewers to rethink the realities depicted in his paintings and to explore the allegory between the image and the text continually. The sentences at the bottom of Van de Velde's drawings serve as a foundation for an independent narrative, resembling a contemplative monologue by the artist.

In the early stages of his practice, the artist primarily presented black charcoal drawings characterised by swift brushwork and an active emphasis on the material's inherent qualities. Subsequently, he expanded his artistic universe through extensive work across drawings, installations, sculptures, and films. Notably, the films have been continuously produced since 2019 and are set in entirely fictional spaces constructed as full-scale sets within the artist's studio. The films feature the artist's alter ego, metaphorically suggesting that the narrative within is autobiographical fiction, thus implicitly revealing Van de Velde's artistic world. The artist has been pursuing a sustained exploration of form and materials over recent years, placing significant emphasis on color drawings using colored pencils and oil pastels, whilst also introducing new standing sculptures featuring color applied to cardboard.

Rinus Van de Velde lives and works in Antwerp, Belgium. He received his master degrees at Sint Lucas Antwerpen in 2006 and at HISK (Hoger Instituut Voor Schone Kunsten - Vlaanderen) in 2010. Major solo exhibitions include I Want to Eat Mango in the Bathtub (Art Sonje Center, Space Isu; Jeonnam Museum of Art, KR, 2024), The Armchair Voyager (Museum Voorlinden, NL, 2023), Inner Travels (BOZAR – Centre for Fine Arts, BE, 2022),  I’d Rather Stay at Home, ... (Kunstmuseum Luzern, CH, 2021), La Ruta Natural (Frac des Pays de la Loire, FR, 2021), and The Villagers (Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga, ES, 2020). His works are in the collections of leading art institutions including S.M.A.K.(Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst), BE, Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp, BE, Belfius Art Collection, BE, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, BE, Kunstmuseum Den Haag, NL, Museum Voorlinden, NL, CAC Málaga, ES, Art Sonje Center, KR, and Jeonnam Museum of Art, KR.